Here is our archive of sermons from 2017.
2017 Theme Kickoff Series
JANUARY
January 8th, 2017 – “LOGOS” – Thomas A. Pruett
In John 1:1-4 John talks about the Word being with God & being God, & how that Word became flesh. Many people know that means Jesus, but what exactly about Jesus? Is it only talking about the message Jesus brought, or is it something more? Thomas takes us on an exploration of the word used there, logos, & the beginning of it’s full picture.
January 15th, 2017 – “LIGHT” – Thomas A. Pruett
In John 1:1-4 John makes four amazing claims – that Jesus is the Logos, that He’s God, and two more, that He is the creator of the world and the light of the world. John right in the beginning of his gospel is saying Jesus is like no other, and that He is the answer. Thomas takes us through why its so important that John tells us this about Jesus & why it matters to us.
January 22nd, 2017 – “Lamb of God” – Bryan Lessly
Bryan continues in John 1 & explains the importance of really answering the question “Who is this man Jesus?” and why John the Baptist calling Jesus “the Lamb of God” was an amazing answer to this question.
January 29th, 2017 – “Holiness” – Thomas A. Pruett
Jesus came to show us the way, the truth, & the life. What does Jesus’ life tell us about God, & what God expects & defines as holiness? Are we always to simply never measure up, or is holiness something more than a measuring stick, or a check list? Thomas examines how Jesus’ entrance into humanity itself tells us about holiness, & what it really means for us to to be holy.
FEBRUARY
February 5th, 2017 – “The Genealogy of Our Faith” – Thomas A. Pruett
Let’s admit it – there are some parts of Scripture we tend to find boring, like genealogies. So, we tend to gloss over parts like Matthew 1:1-17 when we read. But we can actually learn a lot from the genealogies in Scripture. Thomas takes us on a journey through the genealogy Matthew starts his gospel with, explaining the significance but also showing us how the names in the list still matter to us today, & what they teach us.
February 12th, 2017 – “A Tale of Two Faiths” – Thomas A. Pruett
Everyone handles unexpected news and events differently. Luke begins his gospel with two people and their faiths. What does how Zechariah & Mary’s reactions to their respective news tell us about their faith, and more importantly, what can it tell us about ours.
MARCH
March 5th, 2017 – “Focus on the Big Picture” – Thomas A. Pruett
Many people know the ‘big’ stories of the Old Testament – creation, the flood, Abraham & Isaac – and they see these early examples of God and think of Him as mean & judgmental. But is He? Has the consistent image of God really been Him casting humankind from His presence, or something quite the opposite?
March 12th, 2017 – “Stand” – Special Guest – John Dennis from Black Hills Church of Christ
John Dennis from the Black Hills congregation joins us as he & Thomas swap pulpits for the day. John is a former minister of the Spearfish congregation before they merged with Belle Fourche. What a blessing to have John come speak to us.
March 19th, 2017 – Preacher Swap – Tim King from West Main Church of Christ Tim King from West Main joins us to talk about discipling & building each other up! We’re blessed to be able to have other congregation & preacher contribute to building up our area as well as our own congregations.
NOTE: Our sound system was acting up so about 10 minutes in it blips and gets a little odd, but you can still listen to Tim!
APRIL
April 2nd, 2017 – “Be a Witness for God” – Garrett Winkler
Today, Garrett preaches to us his sermon written for LTC about the importance, necessity, and how sometimes it’s not easy to be a witness for God. For his first time preaching, Garrett gives us a sturdy and heartfelt message.
April 9th, 2017 – “What Our Giving Says” – Thomas A. Pruett
Churches are sometimes infamous for telling those present that its important to give. Some people think churches focus too much on people giving their monies to the church. Thomas takes on the subject of giving, not just our money, but our time & our talents & services, and focuses exclusively on how it impacts our relationship with God, because it does more than people may realize.
Easter Sunday – April 16th, 2017 – Bryan Lessly
Bryan Lessly preaches Easter Sunday. Every time Bryan takes on God’s word its an edifying time for the rest of us!
April 23rd, 2017 – “Growing in Wisdom” – Thomas A. Pruett
In Luke 2 we see that Jesus learned & grew in wisdom. We must do this too! What does learning about how Jesus learned and His attitude towards it tell us about how we must grow in wisdom?
April 30th, 2017 – “Preparing the Way” – Thomas A. Pruett
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry on earth. This was no small, nor was it an easy task. In fact, in many ways John speaks to our lives as Christians more directly as far as our purpose & how we point to Jesus than many others Biblical characters. Thomas teaches us about how our lives are to prepare the way in the world for Jesus.
MAY
May 7th, 2017 – “Wining About Water at the Wedding” – Thomas A. Pruett
The story of Jesus’ first miracle of turning the water into wine is well known. Perhaps what is not as well known are the many ways in which Jesus caring, acting, & providing the wine at the wedding teaches us about how Jesus cares, acts, & provides for us in our lives. Thomas teaches us a few ways that we can remember this miracle and look for its principles in our lives.
May 14th, 2017 – “Mothers Through the Scriptures” – Thomas A. Pruett
Today the nation celebrates mothers. Generally we celebrate good mothers, but what about absent mothers, adoptive mothers, and yes, evil mothers – can their children still be used by God? Can those kinds of mothers still work for good somehow? Thomas takes us through the Bible and shows how our parents don’t determine what kind of follower of Jesus we can and should be.
May 28th, 2017 – “Witness” – Michael Zoller
Why is it important to witness to others Jesus Christ? In his first time preaching, with a sermon from LTC, Michael Zoller teaches us about witnessing and how it’s a needed tool for the church.
JUNE
Many people today will go to, serve, & assemble with the church yet wonder, “What’s the point of all this?” These are fair questions – is the church meant for more than Sunday morning? What does church look like when I need it? How can I better be the church the rest of the week? Today, we look into Acts 2 & 2nd Corinthians 1 to discover better how to be the church, especially when we need us to be.
Inevitably, failure is a part of life. Even when you’re following Jesus. It’s something we don’t like to talk about, but yet we deal with over and over. How can learning how Jesus’ apostles & disciples help us overcome our own failures, and are they truly failures as we think of them?
*Note 11/14/2017 – Missing sermons between the Sept 17th and Nov 12th are coming, we’ve just not been able to collect them and upload them yet. We apologize for any inconvenience, and plan to have them up soon.
For our faith today we have the word of the Word, or rather the words of Jesus & the Biblical writers. What does it mean to put faith in these things & in this person? What can we learn from a centurion who trusted in Jesus’ word, and how does that affect our faith, especially in areas we can’t see with our eyes?
What can we learn from our emotional, mental, spiritual, and even physical scars? Have we even looked our scars in the eye and reckoned with what caused them? What can we learn from Jesus healing the many people He did in Matthew 8, how He did it & why? In short, do we trust Jesus to help heal our scars? This sermon is the second of a series of four about being “Thankful for the Unseen.”
Can we be thankful for things we can’t even see yet? According to Jesus, we can & we must. What can we learn from Matthew 8 about what we can see, that Jesus can, that we can trust in & be thankful for before we see it?
Matthew was not the ideal choice to follow Jesus it seems. He was a tax collector, an extortionist, a sinner – and we have more in common with him that we realize. Why did Jesus call him, and why does Jesus call us?